In his book The Icarus Deception, author Seth Godin sheds new light on the ancient Greek myth of Icarus and Daedalus.
The story goes that Daedalus created wings for himself and his son Icarus that were attached with wax. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, or the wax would melt.
Icarus became euphoric with the sensation of flying and did indeed fly too close to the sun. Sure enough, the wax melted, he tumbled into the Icarian Sea and died.
But what has been lost over the eons is that Daedalus also warned his son not to fly too low, or the sea water would ruin the lift of the fragile wings.
The admonition of not flying too high and not flying too low aligns with the Buddhist idea of “The Middle Way,” which is the path to liberation.
Although The Middle Way and balance are wise, mindful approaches life, I tend to believe that Icarus did the right thing by flying high.
If you fly too low, you are squandering life’s blessing.
If you fly in the middle, you may have a comfortable life, but you may also miss the adventure.
When you fly closer to the sun, while you risk melting the wax of your wings, you are also breathing rarified air.
You just might get a glimpse and a taste of Heaven.
Isn’t that worth the risk?
And shifting from Greek Mythology to Seventies Rock and Roll, this from Manfred Mann’s Blinded By The Light…
“Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the sun… but Mama, that’s where the fun is.“
